Christians, why do we care which companies say “Merry Christmas” and which ones don’t? Are we supposed to be fighting the “War on Christmas” with our wallets? As Focus on the Family has done in the past, the American Family Association recently issued its annual “Naughty and Nice” list of national retailers who do and do not say the C-word. And you’re going to hear about Christians getting bent out of shape over those who say “Happy Holidays” instead.

I’m not at all suggesting that Christians should be silenced by their government or employer for openly celebrating the birth of our Savior–that’s wrong. But at the retail level, the bigger problem isn’t the war on Christmas, but the war unbelievers have against God. Why do we expect pagans to act like the Church? And why aren’t we taking every opportunity to show them who Jesus is and why He came?

And yet here we are, praising companies who say Merry Christmas, knowing full well that this marketing ploy carries some sort of clout (or there wouldn’t be the Naughty or Nice list in the first place.) So let’s do a quick 10-minute Google search on whom we are lifting up on that AFA “Nice” side of the list, for “regularly promoting and celebrating Christmas on an exceptional basis.” Check out these headlines:

Neiman Marcus tops the list for gay and lesbian bridal registries

Hallmark rolls out gay marriage cards

Toys ‘R’ Us Stocking Gay-Friendly Archie Comics

JCPenney Features ‘Real-Life’ Same-Sex Couple In Fathers’ Day Ad

Target Donates 100% of Gay ‘Pride’ T-Shirt Sales

And these are the nice guys. So we honor with our Christmas cash those secular retailers who say “Merry Christmas” at the cash register, but accuse other secular retailers of taking Christ out of Christmas by saying “Happy Holidays.” How helpful is that? Answer: It isn’t.

Radio hosts Chris Rosebrough and Brannon Howse put it rather well on a recent Worldview Weekend discussion:

How many people are going to enter hell for not saying ‘Merry Christmas’? None! How many will go to hell because they embraced a false Jesus and a false gospel proclaimed by false teachers? The answer is millions and millions. The ‘war on Christmas’ by unbelievers should not be our ultimate concern compared to the war on the Biblical gospel and the Biblical Jesus by modern-day evangelicalism.

Which is more harmful: hearing Happy Holidays from a store clerk, or hearing false doctrine that takes Christ out of Christianity? Why don’t we hear a shrill outcry against that? Maybe we ought to have a “naughty and nice” list for churches that celebrate and promote false teachings and blatant heresy.